Taiwan Tongzhi（LGBTQ+） Hotline Association
台灣同志諮詢熱線協會
In 1998, after reports on the suicide of LGBTQ+ teenagers in Taiwan, in their grief, several LGBTQ+ movement participants decided to pick up a past dream and form a long-term, sustainable institution for assisting members of the LGBTQ+ community in need of help. This could serve as a way of searching for recognition and emotional support.
This was the impetus for the formation of the Taiwan Tongzhi(LGBTQ+) Hotline Association. The Hotline began providing telephone consultation services on June 27th, 1998, from serving as a hotline to gradually developing various social services. Currently, there are thirteen workers leading more than 500 volunteers, with two offices in Taipei and Kaohsiung. The Hotline's work has four main areas:
1) Social Services: Every year, there are over 1600 phone calls seeking advice, with more than one hundred support groups and meetings, with targeted groups including young people, lesbians, transgender individuals, and LGBTQ+ parents and their children.
2) Social Education:
More than 300 lectures are held annually across Taiwan, with topics including not only getting to know members of the LGBTQ+ community, but AIDS, transgender issues, and LGBTQ+-friendly workplaces. Advancing specialized gender sensitivity. Through setting up stalls, running podcasts, and YouTube channels, more can get to know members of the LGBTQ+ community.
3) Issue-Based Advocacy
Devoting efforts to LGBTQ+ policy, including bills such as regarding gender-equality education, AIDS-related issues, etc.
4) Transnational Connections
Open up the space for international LGBTQ+ human rights work, allowing for exchanges between international organizations, developing mutual connections, and allowing for new opportunities to participate in international meetings to work to bring Taiwan's experience to the world.
The start of the Hotline in 1998, through telephone consultations, allowed for an understanding of the needs of the LGBTQ+ community and the various services needed to meet the needs of the community. This includes regarding LGBTQ+ communities, LGBTQ+ education, AIDS prevention, elderly LGBTQ+ individuals and long-term care, transgender issues, youth issues, and intimate relations. This also included developing LGBTQ+ domestic violence services in collaboration with the Awakening Foundation and LGBTQ+ adoption services in collaboration with Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy Association and implementing advocacy for the disabled in collaboration with Hand Angel and Disabled+Queer.
In 2003, held the first pride parade in all of Taiwan and continued to provide assistance in planning for pride parades after. In 2010, organized the first pride parade in Kaohsiung. In 2019, organized the first Trans March.
2003-2004: Gender Equity Education Act
From the Two Gender Equality Act to the Gender Equity Education Act, outside of protecting the equality of males and females, also needed to cover equal rights and protections for different sexualities, orientations, identities, and mannerisms. This specified the curriculum for sexual equality education for schools. As such education takes root in the minds of young people, this allows the next generation in Taiwan to be more pluralistic and broad-minded.
2015: Amendment of the HIV Infection Control and Patient Rights Protection Act
The Hotline is a member of the HIV Act Amendment Alliance. After the course of the law's amendment in 2015, the entry and restriction of non-citizens with HIV will no longer be restricted, and HIV-related medical expenses will be restored to the National Health Insurance. This amendment brings Taiwan in line with international standards and turns a new page in protections for individuals with HIV.
2016 to the Present: Promotion of Marriage Equality and Related Work
The Hotline, along with Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy Association, the Awakening Foundation, the Lobby Alliance for LGBT Human Rights, and the Queermosa Awards, jointly established Marriage Equality Taiwan. Since 2016, this alliance began pushing for marriage equality bills, through lobbying, mass mobilizations, and promotional materials as three major policies, promoting dialogue among legislators and in society at large. This allowed Taiwan to become the first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage in 2019, though there continue to be aspects that need to be worked on for marriage equality.
The Hotline held the ILGA-Asia international conference in 2015, with more than 300 LGBTQ+ movement activists participating, along with members of the European Union and UNDP. Through international meetings, this could raise Taiwan's international visibility, with the accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ movement and regarding gender/sexuality issues also leading to esteem in Asia. Likewise, the Hotline participates in the writing of newsletters on international human rights conventions, including regarding the Two Covenants, the Covenant on the Rights of the Child, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), as part of shadow reports to allow international experts to understand Taiwan's situation and the status of human rights for members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as to provide oversight over this situation, to protect and advance the human rights of members of the LGBTQ+ community in Taiwan.
